A Chinese citizen has been arrested in connection with the 22 kg gold smuggling case from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Tuesday.

J Jhong (passport no. E 37476987), who arrived in Nepal boarding a Chinese aircraft via Chendu, was arrested after the immigration department discovered that her name had been “blacklisted”.

A police team deployed from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on August 31, 2017 had confiscated 14 kg gold from the Tokha-based room of Pemba Dorje Sherpa and one kg gold from Janakpur. The gold was smuggled into Nepal from China via Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point by evading customs.

The CIB concluded that out of 22 kg gold, seven kg gold has been smuggled to India. The CIB claimed that J Jhong was involved in smuggling the precious yellow metal to India from Kathmandu.

Soon after the incident was made public, the CIB wrote a letter to the TIA-based immigration office saying that J Jhong was involved in the 22 kg gold smuggling case and examine her passport carefully.

Saying that Raj Kumar Paudel, Chairman of the Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok, was the owner of the smuggled gold, the CIB rounded up 11 persons including Paudel and filed a case against them at the Kathmandu District Court under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 2013 seeking a five-year jail sentence and a fine of Rs 10.46 million.

Police have also made Sundar Khadka, Krishna Khadka and Ramesh Khadka, who are said to be making New Road area their base for running the illegal business of hundi (transfer of money through illegal channels) and gold smuggling, defendants in the case.

Paudel, the alleged mastermind behind the 22 kg gold smuggling case, has already been released after posting Rs 100,000 bail.

Meanwhile, during police interrogation, Pemba said the gold was handed over to him by a Chinese citizen to push it to India from Kathmandu. He said the gold was brought to Kathmandu from Kerung by hiding it in his container.

CIB Chief DIG Pushkar Karki said that they have started investigation against her. “We hope that the investigation will gather more facts about the gold smugglers,” he said.